Soul Eater X Blue Exorcist! Rise of the Yokai
by Yellowpikmin88
Summary: The seal of the Yokai realm has been broken, unleashing a horde of demons onto the world. Thus Lord Death must call upon an old partner in crime: Mephisto Phelles and his squadron of upcoming exorcists for help. Rin, Yukio and the Exwires must band together with Maka and Co to reseal the threat of the yokai before the entire world is permanently possesed with fear.
1. Chapter 1

_An unknown evil has destroyed the sealing gate of the Yokai, unleashing a horde of demons onto the world. Unfortuantely for the DWMA these aren't your typical beastly kishin eggs and some aren't even affected by their weapons. Thus Lord Death must call upon an old partner in crime: Mephisto Phelles and his squadron of upcoming exorcists. Rin, Yukio and the Exwires must band together with Maka and Co to find the one responsible for destroying the gate and reseal the threat of the yokai before the entire populace of the world is permanently possessed by fear._

 **Soul Eater belongs to Atsushi Okubo  
**

 **Blue Exorcist belongs to Kazue Kato**

 **ATTENTION!** **Soul Eater** **OCs will be included in this story:**

 **Shino, Spike, Mark, Will and Juliete belong to XfangheartX (check her out on here and Deviantart)** **Alex, Logan, Katherine, Jason, Arya, Kutaro and Vanellope belong to me  
**

* * *

Turkmenistan, Central Asia. In the middle of the Karakum Desert lies a Shinto Shrine surrounded by a ring of tall red Torii gates. Now in most cases, one would consider this holy ground, but not in this case, no. This was in actuality a sealing shrine, one that had stood for centuries and never once fallen. But that fact would soon be broken on this night as a cloaked figure was pacing through the cold dunes of sand toward the shrine until they approached the biggest Torii which served as the entrance. The figure then raised their hand and whispered a few sentences of tongues as a wall of sparking light appeared within the gateway which bore a large symbol of four diamonds each placed at one of the corners of a larger diamond which had a kanji for 'Yokai' on it. The light jolted and blurred before it shattered like a pane of glass as the figure stepped through the Torii and into the shrine at the centre of the circle. They took a deep breath before placing their hands together, lacing all but their middle and index fingers and joining their thumb tips before they began to chant.

" _Recludere portas inferi et furorem! Recludere portas inferi et furorem! Recludere portas inferi et furorem! Recludere portas inferi et furorem! Recludere portas inferi et furorem!_ " they muttered rapidly as the shrine began to tremble and quake and cracks began to form on the floor and ceiling of the tiny building. The paper talismans burned and turned to ash and the cracks grew larger as blazing fire erupted from below at which point the figure stopped chanting before they raised their hand which had a mysterious tattoo on the palm before they cried out " _FRATRES, VENI FORAS!"_ before they slammed their hand against the centre which caused the cracks to split into full blown crevices as the figure hurried out of the shrine until they stopped about half a yard away from it which was now crumbling into an enormous gaping hole that swallowed the ruins and Torii gates as it widened and stretched across the desert before coming to a stop at the figure's feet who gazed into the fiery pit that now lay where the shrine once stood. Despite their face being obscured their trembling shoulders and mirthful chuckling revealed that their objective was complete before the ground began to shake and then... **FOOOOM!** A massive horde of shadows erupted from the pit. A legion of screeches, laughs and roars emanated from the mass which began to spread out across the sky splitting off into hundreds of individual pieces as twelve landed before the figure morphing into twelve individual silhouettes of various sizes. Until finally a truly tremendous shadow emerged from the pit which towered above them all as it let out a deep dark laugh which shook the heavens.

" **HUAHAHAHAHAHA! FREE, AT LAST.** "

XXX

The next morning, in Death City Nevada, the principal of Death Weapon Meister Academy, Lord Death is sitting in his room, sipping some tea and surveying some papers for applications. He sighed blissfully as he took another sip and gazed as the cloud coated ceiling of the Death Room. It had been a rather slow week for the academy as kishin egg attacks had been rather low, but on the plus side this allowed for his students to get some extra time into their training and studies.

"I wonder.." he said to himself. "It's not too often we get these moments of peace in the world from the kishin. Even we need a break once in a while. Then again, we can't let our guard down. You never know when trouble may come around, or how much of it for that matter."

"LORD DEATH!" the Reaper flinched before he saw Sid come dashing into the room in a frantic state.

"Oh no, looks like I jinxed myself." Lord Death muttered. "Sid, what's going on, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"But, my skin's blue-what am I saying?! We're in trouble! Big trouble!" the Zombie said.

"What kind of trouble?"

"I've received several reports from our other branches around the world. People are under attack from hordes of monsters!"

"Kishin Eggs?"

"No. The meisters stated there wasn't any shred of humanity in their souls. Even kishin eggs retain at least a slither of their former nature."

"Witches perhaps?"

"I don't think they're responsible either. There's something else. One of our members from the Central Asian branch found a rather disturbing sight in the Karakum Desert not long after the monsters were sighted." Lord Death froze at the mention of the location as he gently set down his tea cup.

"Sid." he said slowly. "Was this sight, by any chance, a large gaping hole filled with burning gas?"

"...Yeah...how did you know?" Sid asked as Lord Death stood up his voice losing its goofy tone indicating he'd grown serious.

"This can't be. The seal was meant to be foolproof." he muttered with a hint of panic "You're right, Sid, we _are_ in very big trouble." he then went to his mirror and began dialing a number.

"What do you mean? What's this about a seal? What's going on with these creatures?!"

"A very old enemy I never thought I'd hear from again has returned, Sid, and with it an army of beasts the majority of mankind believe to be legend. Yokai."

"Yokai? Aren't those like demons?"

"Not quite but they're just as dangerous. They're a race that exit between earth and hell and are particulalry difficult to handle. This is an enemy we've grown too used to being without. As such I have no choice but to call upon an old...well I hesitate to use the word 'friend' exactly, rather accomplice more like but an ally nonetheless." Lord Death concluded as he finished dialing and the mirror began to ring.

XXX

 **HERE WE GO! GREAT! EXCELLENT! WORK IT! SUPER!**

"Oh yeah! I'm really cutting this rug now! Am I right, Amaimon?!" meanwhile on the other side of the world at True Cross Academy, Tokyo Japan, a certain eccentric Demon King is in the middle of playing a dance pad video game. he had deep blue hair with one lock that stuck upright and curled into a spiral at the tip and slightly pointed ears. This was the director of the institution, Mephisto Pheles, alias Samael, also known as The Demon King of Time and son of Satan. Now one would think a person with such identities would be the last to be put in charge of an academy for exorcists, but contrary to his Father, Mephisto turned out to be quite the fan of Earth and humanity or 'Assiah' as his species named the realm of mankind. Not only that, he was quite the otaku to boot, loving all things from Japanese culture such as the game he was engaged in.

"This game's boring. Let's play Mortal Kombat again, Big Brother." Mephisto stumbled on the dance pad when he heard this which almost botched his score as he turned to his left with a disgruntled look on his face. Floating upside down and munching on some pocky was a second Demon King. This one had green hair with a cone shaped point on top and slight bags under his eyes. This was Mephisto's younger brother, Amaimon, or The King of Earth. While he was quite loyal to the former, Amaimon was much more of a loose cannon especially when it came to fighting.

"You only ever want play that. You're going to burn out its novelty." Mephisto argued against his choice of game.

"Seeing a man get his head ripped out and face eaten off will never be boring for me." Amaimon replied cooly to which Mephisto sighed.

"Of course it wouldn't." But before he could continue his game, **DING-DONG-DONG-DING!** Both demons jumped when they heard an unfamiliar bell ringing throughout the room, well to Amaimon it was unfamiliar. Mephisto on the other hand stood still in shock for a moment before an amused smile crossed his face.

"Oh my. Now _this_ is quite the suprise." he chuckled as he removed his large white top hat and picked up the pink umbrella which lay beside his desk.

"Big brother?" Amaimon spoke as Mephisto placed his hat base up on the floor and circled the tip of his umbrella over it.

"Ein, zwei, drei~!" he recited before **Poof~! Pop~!** A tall gold framed mirror leaped out of the hat and landed before him which the ringing appeared to be coming from. "It seems an old friend is calling me. You won't have met him." he noted to Amaimon who blinked curiously with a half-eaten pocky between his teeth. Mephisto put his hat back on before he tapped the mirror which caused the ringing noise to stop and the surface to glow white before the image of Lord Death came into view. Mephisto stared at the Reaper for a few moments before he snerked.

"PFFFTHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Lord Death's eye holes drooped in annoyance as Mephisto clutched his chest. "Wha-What the heck are you wearing?! Did you decide to try the chibi look?! What's with that mask?! HAHAHAHA!" **WHAM!** A large white hand suddenly came through the mirror and hit Mephisto around the head knocking him to the floor with a comical dent in his noggin.

"Whereas you haven't changed one bit, Mephisto." Lord Death 'glared' as the latter got to his feet smiling as though nothing had happened.

"Oh come now, Shini. Where's that sense of humour, old buddy old pal?"

"Brother?" the two looked at Amaimon. "You know this...whatever?"

"Oh where are my manners? Amaimon this is Lord Death, the Grim Reaper, or as I call him 'Shini'." the Reaper grunted at the mention of his nickname. "Shini this is my Little Brother, Amaimon, King of Earth."

"Hello." Lord Death greeted him who only stared at him as though he were a puzzle. "Unfortunately, now isn't the time for chitchat. We have a serious situation on our hands."

"Oh?"

"...The Gates of Hell have been opened...Shuten Dōji is free." Mephisto dropped his umbrella before his face changed to the rare expression of horror and then to the second rarest expression of anger.

"Impossible." he murmured. "All who know the properties of the seal are dead. And you know full well I wouldn't be behind it."

"Of course not. Honestly I'm suprised I had to call you, I figured you would be first to know." **BAM!** The door suddenly flung open and an exorcist hurried in giving Amaimon barely enough time to morph into a little green hamster.

"SIR PHELLES! It's a disatser! We just got word from the True Cross Order! The Yokai seal has been broken an-" the man stopped talking when he saw the director and Lord Death. "Oh, you already know."

"About a minute ago to be precise." Mephisto muttered before turning back to Lord Death. "What are we gonna do?" he asked.

"Well if your memory serves you well, there is a solution. But we'll need reinforcements this time." Mephisto nodded before he faced the late informant.

"Send word to Instructor Okumura and his students. I want them all here in my office pronto! Have him bring Shura as well, she'll definitely be needed."

"Yes Sir!"

"And I expect you'll gather your group as well." he added to which Lord Death nodded.

"You still have the key?" Mephisto smirked as he twirled a golden key with the Reaper's mask as the head around his finger.

"Don't you know me at all, Shini?"

"Sometimes I wonder."

"We'll be in Death City soon enough. Toodles." with that the mirror was sucked back into Mephisto's hat and Amaimon changed back from his hamster form.

"Shuten Dōji?" he asked the name.

"He's the ruler of the Yokai realm and a truly ferocious villain at that."

"Is he as powerful as Father?"

"I don't know. But we'll know his true strength this time around, as it's clear the method we used to defeat him last time is out of the question." an ecstatic grin tugged at Amaimon's lips as he sniggered.

"Does this mean I can have some fun with him?"

"I wouldn't understimate him if I were you." Mephisto scolded. "It may be the last thing you ever do."

XXX

Meanwhile, back in Death City, Maka and co were down at the basketball court engaged in one of their Saturday games. The teams consisted of Maka, Crona, Black Star, Liz and Spike vs Soul, Kid, Tsubaki, Patty and Shino, while Alex and the Six Feathers were sitting on the sidelines having played the last round. Currently the teams were tied and there was only five minutes left.

"YEAH! Give it to 'em, Shorty!" Alex called to Maka. "I've got ten bucks riding on you winning!" a tick formed on the scythe meister's temple.

"If I weren't at risk of getting my pigtails cut off I'd lose on purpose for you betting on me." she gritted her teeth.

"Well then get ready for short hair, Maka cause there's no way in hell I'm getting my eyebrows and legs waxed." Soul retorted with a grin as he bounced the ball before passing it to his meister. "Play ball, rookie. Try not to double dribble this time."

"Oh now you're gonna get it!" Maka took off with the ball in tow as the group of friends broke into a clamor of either cheering or instructing their respective team mates. Patty tried to block Maka's path only for her to lob the ball towards Crona before Ragnarok emerged from his back to catch the ball and pass it down to him. The demon swordsman smiled for a moment but soon screamed when Patty came barreling towards him roaring like a hungry lioness. In a panic he threw the ball away unintentionally towards Shino who almost grabbed it until Black Star grabbed it in midair.

"No dice, cowboy!" he laughed before he began to spectate himself. "Black Star's in range of the hoop! He goes up with his shooting star hook!" the assassin curved the ball towards the goal as the others gasped. But just as it was about to land in the hoop... **Fwip~!** A little ball of blue fire appeared underneath the ball, grabbing it as it did so, before it flew across the field and slamdunked the ball into Maka's team goal. Everyone stared in shock at what had happened before Alex broke the silence.

"You owe me ten, Jason." he muttered.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Black Star roared before he turned his gaze towards Kutaro. "WHAT'S THE IDEA YA LITTLE FIRESPITTER?!"

"I didn't do it!" the young elemental defended himself as the little blue fireball hovered into the centre of the court as everyone gathered around it.

"...What is it?" Spike wondered as Patty tentatively poked it gently causing it to quiver and let out a mix between a whistle and purr.

"It doesn't burn." she said to the others as the flame floated over to Kutaro as it 'stared' at the fireball above his head before it flew around him a few times until, a pair of eyes and a little mouth appeared on the surface of the flame and it giggled.

"Nihihihihi!" It chittered before it flew through Kutaro's body like a ghost causing him to laugh.

"It tickles!" he chortled as the flame creature continued to play with him.

"Maka? You getting anything on this living matchstick?" Liz asked.

"I...I don't know. It's not human but isn't kishin either, or even witch. Logan?" Maka turned to the Six feather's leader.

"You got me. I've never seen a creature like this before. At first I thought it might be a will o wisp but they're formally human, this creature isn't."

"Whatever it is, it sure is friendly." Vanellope said who was now also palying with the mysterious creature. But just then the group heard a voice calling to them.

"Hey you lot!" They looked up to see Sid approaching them.

"Hey Sid, what's happening?" Soul greeted the zombie.

"A lot actually." He replied. "Lord Death needs to see you all now. Something really big's come up."

"Something big always happens when we're the ones being summoned." Jason muttered.

"I wonder why that is?" Alex asked throwing a 'suspicious glance'.

"Well let's go, no time to drag our feet." Sid said as he lead the gang back to the DWMA, the mysterious little flame tailing after them before it hid inside Kutaro's turban.

XXX

Going back to True Cross Academy Mephisto sat at his desk drumming his fingers impatiently whilst Amaimon was still snacking, before a knock came to the door. Mephisto momentarilly lifted his hat as Amaimon turned into a hamster and jumped into the hat before his brother put it back on.

"Come in." he called as the door opened revealing a group of seven teenagers (five boys and two girls) and a young woman.

"Sir Phelles, you summoned us." said the boy leading the group. He had dark brown hair, blue eyes and three moles on his face, along with a pair a glasses. This was Yukio Okumura; the youngest exorcist of only fifteen years of age. He was also the teacher of the other teens accompanying him.

"And it better be worth it calling us in on the weekend!" snapped a boy with black hair, slightly pointed ears and suprisingly a long tail. This was Yukio's twin brother, Rin and as you can probably tell by his attitude he wasn't quite as eager to be present. Little known fact about the ears and tail: Rin also happened to be the half demon son of Satan. Yes _the_ Satan, though this secret had been kept strictly amongst his brother, friends, Mephisto and the higher ups of the True Cross Order.

"Cram it, Okumura! If it means extra credit I'd give up a Saturday or two if I were you! Thank god I'm not!" Rin sneered back at the third male of the group who appered to be a year older than him with a stoick build and brown hair with a large blonde mohawk running down the middle. He also had a number of piercings in his ears and a 5 o'clock shadow goatee. His name was Ryuji Suguro, and also Rin's rival.

"Hey take it easy, Bon. Let's not go tearing up the Director's office." a boy with buzzcut hair and red glasses, known as Konekomaru Miwa, tried to quell the argument between Rin and Ryuji. Bon, happened to be the latter's nickname which Koneko, along with the final boy present, often referred to him as. His name was Renzo Shima, with pink hair and brown eyes. He, Koneko and Bon had known each other since childhood and were often seen as a trio of sorts.

"Well whatever we've been called for, let's just pray it won't be as bad as our trip to Kyoto." he muttered to which one of the girls fo the group chuckled. She had long dark purple hair tied in twin ponytails and red eyes, though her most noticeable feature was her small oval shaped eyebrows. She was the shrine maiden, Izumo Kamiki.

"Knowing those present, I wouldn't hold your breath, Shima." she cautioned him causing him to groan hopelessly.

"Can't you let a guy dream just a little, Izumo?" he whimpered only for her to turn her nose up at him.

"Th-There's nothing to worry about, Shima." the last child and other girl spoke up. "Sir Phelles wouldn't have called us if he didn't believe we could handle it. Whatever mission we're being sent on, we'll do it together. And there's always a chance you could be right." comical tears of joy fell from Shima's eyes due to the blonde, green eyed girl's supportive words. Her name was Shiemi, Moriyama and close friend to Rin and Yukio.

"You couldn't be more right, Miss Moriyama." Mephisto grinned at her burst of confidence before he glanced at the older woman of the group with fiery red and yellow hair, green eyes and slightly plump lips. What's more she was only wearing a bikini top on her front which showed off the strange red tattoo running down to her waist. She was Shura Kirigakure, an upper first class exorcist (higher than Yukio) and also rin's mentor. "And thank you for coming out for this, Shura, I appreciate it." she sucked her teeth at Mephisto's gratitude.

"Whatever. It's pointless arguing with you anyway. So what's this all about?" Mephisto rolled his eyes before he spoke.

"We'll be taking a little trip to the other side of the world, kids. To the land of red, white and blue."

"America?" Yukio clarified.

"That's right. We'll be doing a little...collaborative project, with another school in Nevada. They're known as the Death Weapon Meister Academy." a few brows were raised among the crowd at the mention of the name.

"I think I've heard of them before. They're like us, right?" Bon asked.

"From a certain point of view. They aren't exorcists though and the demons they hunt are known as Kishin; born from humans corrupted by the sin of eating innocent souls for power."

"Yeah it's all coming back to me now." Shura murmured. "They also fight by partnering with humans who can morph into weapons."

"That's correct." Mephistopheles confirmed. "We'll be spending a fair amount of time with them, so be sure to pack plenty and be back in hour. That'll be all." The group blinked as they tried to process all they'd just been told.

 **~~~One Hour Later~~~  
**  
The two exorcists and six exwires soon returned with their essentials. Although now an extra member had joined the group, in the form of a black and white cat with big green eyes and a pari of stubby horns on top of its head. Not only that but it also had two tails instead of one and it was currently sitting on Rin's shoulder. His name was Kuro, a cat sidhe who used to be the familiar of Rin and Yukio's adoptive Father, Shiro. After his untimely death, Kuro became Rin's familiar, one reason being that the latter coudl udnerstand him being half demon himself. The little cat yawned prompting Rin to scratch his ears enticing a purr before Mephisto stood up from his desk.

"Well you look like you're all ready to travel. Let's be on our way then." he smiled as he ushered the group aside so he could reach the office door.

"Uh, you never mentioned exactly how we're going to get there." Rin pointed out. "Did you book us all plane tickets or something?" the demon chuckled at him in response.

"Under normal circumstances perhaps, but that won't be the case this time around." he then heald up the golden, skull-tipped key before placing it in the offic door's keyhole. A small **click** sounded and the door swung open before Mephisto stepped through, but instead of the school hallway being on the other side, instead there lay the open street of a town none of the others recognised as they followed throug, having watched the spectacle in awe. Mephisto grinned as he looked up at the sky, noting the large laughing sun which loomed overhead.

"Welcome, one and all, to Death City."

 **To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Soul Eater belongs to Atsushi Okubo**

 **Blue Exorcist belongs to Kazue Kato**

 **ATTENTION!** **Soul Eater OCs will be included in this story:**

 **Shino, Spike, Mark, Will and Juliete belong to XfangheartX (check her out on here and Deviantart) Alex, Logan, Katherine, Jason, Arya, Kutaro and Vanellope belong to me**

* * *

The group of exorcist (sans Mephisto) looked around in all directions as they viewed the location they'd literally stepped into. The overall layout and structure of the city bared similar to True Cross Academy (as well as the abundant use of the image of a cartoonish skull the exwires could say was on par with the level their director's face was plastered all over town) though the gothic aesthetic and anatomic sun were quite the obvious difference.

"...Where _are_ we?!" Rin gawked at their surroundings.

"Death City, Nevada." Mephisto repeated the city's name. "Home of an old friend of mine and his distinguished academy. Behold!" The demon pointed his umbrella to the north to which the gang also looked to see at the top of the city was a truly bizarre building that appeared to consist of three enormous skulls with a number of spires protruding from the top and four gigantic flaming candles sticking from its sides.

"The DWMA: Death Weapon Meister Academy!" Mephisto introduced the building with an excited grin. "It's been forever and a half since I last stepped foot in that institution. Shall we go say hi?"

XXX

Inside the aforementioned building, Maka and Co were now standing before Lord Death.

"So you're saying the mission you have for us will be in cooperation with another school that hunts demons like us?" Maka recaped, revealing that they'd been given a brief rundown of the situation from the Reaper who nodded.

"Yes. They're known as True Cross Academy. But they don't train mesiters and weapons; they train exorcists." Lord Death replied much to the surprise of his students.

"Exorcists? You mean the same kind who use holy water, crucifixes and such?" Black Star asked.

"To some extent."

"And what exactly is this mission we'll be working with them on?" Shino questioned.

"It would be best if the task at hand were explained once the other group has arrived to avoid repeating myself." Lord Death answered before a knock sounded at the door. "And that should be them now. Come in~!" the massive doors opened as the DWMA gang looked to see the Exwires with Mephisto at the head of the group. He looked to see Lord Death at the end of the room and grinned as he and his group approached before he removed his hat in greeting.

"It really has been too long, Shini." he said as he shook the reaper's giant novelty hand.

"*SNRRK!* Shini?" Soul snorted a laugh to which Lord Death groaned.

"I'd prefer if you refrained from calling me that in front of them." he told Mephisto who only grinned back mockingly. "Everyone, this is Mephisto Phelles. The director of True Cross Academy." the man tipped his hat to the meisters and weapons with a friendly wink. For some reason his attire seemed to remind Black Star of a certain pompous sword.

"Nice to meet you, kids." he said. "I trust we'll all get along just fine on this job. And since I don't want to beat around the bush here a little known fact about me: I'm a demon." the DWMA gang blinked at him before Liz spoke up.

"Come again?"

"Mephisto is also known as Samael; The Demon King of Time." Lord Death said.

"You aren't the only school being run by an entity often viewed to be evil." Mephisto added as the gang stared in shock at the revelation. "Ironic isn't it; me, a demon, training humans to be exorcists. I'm even one myself. But enough about me. Allow me introduce two of my staff members." Yukio and Shura stepped forward (the latter yawning boredly).

"Yukio Okumura; Middle First Class Exorcist at your service." He bowed.

"You're a staff member?! You're no older than me!" Spike gaped.

"That's cause he's a nerd." Shura answered which Yukio chose to ignore. "He may be smart but don't let his rank fool you, he's still a kid. I'm Shura Kirigakure; Upper First Class. Nice to meet ya." she grinned. A handful of the DWMA boys blushed at her wardrobe choice.

"Holy smokes, I think she might be bigger than Blair." Soul muttered earning a punch to the arm from Maka who approached Shura with an open hand.

"How do you do, Miss Kirigakure? I'm Maka Albarn, and I look forward to working with you and your students. I never thought I'd get to work with an exorcist." Shura chuckled at the girl's formality as she shook her hand.

"Nice. The feeling's mutual, kid, you sound like you've got spunk." Maka grinned at the compliment before Lord Death spoke up.

"As for myself, I go by a number of names; Lord Death, Shinigami..."

"Shini." Mephisto added mockingly as a tick fromed on the reaper's mask before he continued.

"But I suppose my most well known name would be the Grim Reaper." the True Cross members stared at him before he confirmed their thoughts. "Yes, _the_ Grim Reaper."

"You mean the one who comes for you at the end and sails you across the River Styx to either Heaven or Hell, _that_ Reaper?!" Shima gaped.

"Yes that's me, though I don't really sail much these days anymore." Lord Death muttered. "It's a long story but I basically had a career change and became the principal of this academy, training children to hunt Kishin in the name of peace." the exorcists looked amongst themselves before Lord Death continued.

"I'm sure you all want to meet and greet each other, but for right now I think it would be best to give you all the rundown of the mission you've been brought together for."

"If it requires the work of two organisations it's probably a big deal." Shino said.

"To put it simply." Mephisto agreed. "In the Karakum desert, there was a shrine and as such it was also a sight for the presense of spirits. But this one was unlike any other. It wasn't just a shrine but also a gateway to another realm. The realm of Yokai."

"Yokai?" Logan questioned. "Aren't those mytical creatures from Japanese folklore?"

"Yeah, Nintendo made some games about them! Me and my Sis play them all the time!" Kutaro piped up. Mephisto chuckled.

"Yes those are very fun games. And while for this generation, they would only seem to be just fairytales, they were in fact their own species. But unlike man and demon who weren't afraid to make themselves known, Yokai were often rather elusive and timid creatures, going about the world invisible and only appearing briefly, especially at night. They were the monsters under the bed or in the closet. The things you glimpsed out of the corner of your eye. The trick of the light in the mirror. A very mysterious species."

"However as time went on, more dangerous Yokai began to enter the world, some capable of summoning terrible curses or monstrous forces of nature." Lord Death said grimly. "Soon their kind became too dangerous to coexist with and so their shrine was made into a seal to keep them trapped in their own realm forever. That was twenty-five years ago."

"Then...what you're saying is-" Yukio began.

"The seal has been destroyed, yes." Mephisto confirmed. "And the Yokai have been unleashed back into Assiah."

"How?!" Shura asked.

"We don't know. Only someone with knowledge of the seal's equasion could have broken it."

"But why was the seal even made?" Rin questioned. "How did they become so dangerous to the point where banishing them was the only solution?"

"Well for starters Yokai aren't from Gehenna so most of our techniques didn't have as much strength against them as they did against demons. But I suppose the problem really began with a Yokai named Shuten Doji, the King of Oni."

"A Yokai King?" Tsubaki murmured.

"It was him who brought about the rise of evil Yokai in the world. Shuten believed that due to their resistance to the majority of our methods, Yokai were the superior species and should have been the ones to rule Assiah."

"So he was like Satan?" Bon compared the yokai and demon. Mephisto weighed his hands in thought.

"Yes and no. While God and Satan are immortal enemies there was a code of sorts between them as they represented the balance between good and evil. One cannot be without the other. Shuten on the other hand was much more aggresive and upront than Satan as unlike him he could actually exist in Assiah. And after he rose to power and sought to take the world for himself as well, that made work a little, shall we say, challenging for the Vatican to fight two supreme evils at once." Mephisto said.

"Man this is heavy." Soul muttered.

"Indeed. And so it was that the Vatican decided one of the two species should be sealed in their realm completely, the demons or the Yokai. Since Shuten came after Satan and the higher ups were more acustomed to dealing with his forces, the Yokai were chosen for sealing. So while Lord Death and his academy teamed up with the True Cross Order to hold back his forces, Shuten was a different matter entirely. In order to seal him and his kind a representative of light and darkness was required for the ritual."

"Meaning God and Satan had to work together to seal Shuten?!" Maka assumed causing Mephisto to burst out laughing.

"That'll be the day! A feat of that scale would be impossible, for a number of reasons. No, the representatives were a Demon King and a Paladin. AKA- yours truly and one Shiro Fujimoto." Rin, Yukio and Kuro gasped at that moment.

"Dad helped seal the Yokai King?!" Rin spluttered.

"With my cooperation." Mephisto reminded him. "Yes with our combined efforts we were able to seal Shuten and the entire Yokai populace back into their dimension. But, now that the seal's been broken and with Shiro being well, dead and all, you can understand why this won't be an easy matter to resolve." Everyone looked amongst themselves as they processed the situation before Shura spoke up.

"But what about Angel? He's a Paladin, couldn't you work with him to reseal the gate?" Mephisto's face turned sour.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. The ritual didn't just require a demon and high priest. There had to be a true bond of trust and friendship between the two in order to properly represent the balance of good and evil, figuratively speaking." Shura's expression soon matched his as she put the pieces together.

"And you aren't exactly Angel's favourite."

"That's a polite way of putting it but yes. Hence the reason why the gate can't be resealed-"

"Then what the hell do we do?!" Bon shouted. "Find some other Demon King and get Angel to become his bestie?!"

"Calm down, Sugurou, don't get your panties in a knot." Mephisto waved his hand. "I was going to say we can't reseal the gate, that way. There is another method but it's much harder. Shiro and I took the shortcut last time."

"Then what's the method?" Kid asked.

"Ever since he came to power Shuten was supported by his twelve Yokai generals, each one carrying a fragment of his essence as a sign of loyalty as well as a means of providing them with power. If all twelve were defeated and sealed however they could be made into makeshift anchors to form the base of a new gate. Then Shuten himself must be defeated and sealed to form the shrine, their bond of loyalty becoming a chain to bind them. You can probably guess why Shiro and Mephisto took the other method." Lord death answered.

"So what you're saying is we have to hunt down, beat and lock up these twelve Yokai generals and then do the same to their King?!" Koneko said nervously.

"I'm afraid it's the only way, but what ya gonna do?" Mephisto shrugged with a grin.

"Yeah what _are_ we gonna do?!" Spike asked, irritated by the demon's nonchalant attitude. "You make it sound like it's no big deal! How do we find them, how do we fight them, how do we seal them?!"

"We need to get Shiro's research notes on the orginal seal so I can modify it to Shuten's generals. They're tough, but not invincible. Once we gather the informaion we need we can begin our hunt." Lord Death said. "But for now, you should all get settled in and learn to get along with your new comrades, you'll certainly need to if you hope to win. Maka why don't you and your team take our new friends somewhere to relax for now?" the exorcists and DWMA gang looked at each other. "Report back tomorrow for the next course of action." as their subordinates took their leave the Reaper and Demon King remained to discuss the matters at hand.

"You really have no idea how this could have happened?" the former asked Mephisto who frowned.

"I wish I knew. Shiro and I were the only ones who had knowledge of the seal's properties. It's a mystery to be certain. But whoever's responsible I'm certainly curious about their motive."

XXX

Meanwhile the DWMA gang and the True Cross team were walking the streets of Death City. Upon hearing Shura's demands for a drink (what with the heat of the location) the group found themselves at one of the Deathbucks.

"Personally I'd prefer beer, but I guess a frappe'll do to cool off." the woman said as she sipped her iced coffee.

"We'll we're all minors here so..." Maka shrugged. "But hey, now that we're all relaxed let's get to introductions. To reintroduce myself, my name is Maka Albarn, and this is my weapon partner, Soul Eater."

"How's it going?" Soul waved until Black Star stepped up in his typical flamboyant fashion.

"I am the great and powerful Black Star!" he greeted. "The one and only assassin who'll surpass God!" an awkward silence lingered before it was broken by Izumo and Shura's laughter.

"Surpass God?! And I thought Okumura and Suguro's ambitions were laughably high." Izumo snickered.

" **SHUT UP!** " Rin and Bon yelled at her.

"Man if he can pull that off, beating the shit out of Satan will look like child's play, right Rin?!" Shura slammed her palm on the table as she laughed.

"I know he's a little big headed, but he's really a sweet guy when you get to know him." Tsubaki defended Black Star.

"I'm guessing you're his weapon partner." Yukio assumed.

"Mmhm, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa." the young woman smiled.

"You've already met myself and Ms Kirigakure." Yukio said. "As for our students, this is my older twin brother, Rin."

"Nice to meet you all."

"My name's Ryuji Suguro." Bon introduced himself.

"But we just call him, Bon. Name's Renzo Shima by the way." Shima then pointed to Koneko. "And this is Konekomaru Miwa."

"Charmed." the young monk bowed politely.

"This is Shiemi Moriyama." Rin introduced the blonde girl who blushed shyly.

"H-Hello, everyone." she said nervous but sweetly.

"And last but not least, we have Izumo Kamiki." Yukio introduced the final member who simply nodded in greeting.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Rin spoke up before he scratched the ears of the black cat on his shoulder earning a happy mewo from him alerting the DWMA gang of hsi presence.

"Oh you have a kitty?!" Patty beamed as she tickled his chin. "Aww isn't he cute~! Wait...he has two tails!" the rest of her friends saw to their suprise she was right as they noticed the cats extra tail and small horns.

"His name's Kuro." Rin said. "He's a cat sidhe that used to belong to my Dad before I took him in."

" _Hey! I never 'belonged' to Shiro. I was hsi frined, not hsi pet!"_ Kuro corrected.

"Ok, ok, so-rry!" Rin rolled his eyes. "No need to throw a tantrum."

"Wait you can understand him?" Kutaro asked.

"Yeah, long story. He's also my familiar, a demon partner of sorts." Rin added.

"Wow, and I thought I was the only one who lived with a magical cat." Maka

"You own a cat Sidhe?" Koneko wondered.

"No, I wouldnt' say that. Her name's Blair, Soul and I mistook her for a witch cause she can turn into a human. It was a rather awkward screw up on our part." she chuckled embarrassingly.

"Man as if this city had enough in common with True Cross, now it has a transforming cat too? Talk about weird." Shima questioned.

"That's what's weird about this place to you?!" Bon spoke up. "Is nobody questioning why our sun and moon have suddenly grown faces and started laughing at us?!"

"He found a plot hole! NURSE!" Alex screamed in panic with his hands on his head.

"And why have we never encountered Kishin eggs before? Both our schools are on the same planet, aren't they?" Bon questioned further before Alex slapped his hand over his mouth.

"SHHH! Don't say stuff like that! You wanna be black-bagged?!" Bon grunted as he forced the weapon's hand off him

"What the hell is he smoking?!" he asked the other DWMA members who gave him weird looks.

"We don't know either. That's Alex, he has this tendency to point out things only he seems to notice. It may have been a side effect of him eating two witch souls instead of one." Maka theorised. "We've found it best to just accept it or you risk getting a headache."

"...Well you know him better than I do." Bon muttered.

"Speaking of witches," Katherine started. "I think it's time we say hello as well. I'm Katherine Evergreen, and these are my siblings; my two brothers, Jason and Kutaro and my two sisters, Arya and Vanellope."

"And I'm Logan Owlfeather." Logan introduced himself. "The mesiter of the Evergreens."

"Together we're known as the Six Feathers!" Vanellope grinned. "The DWMA's number one team of mages!"

"Mages? You mean like witches and wizards?!" Rin stared.

"Yep, don't go getting any ideas of hanging us for witchcraft." Jason laughed though his siblings and leader shot him with grim frowns, unamusd by his joke.

"I state again, weird." Shima repeated to which the others nodded.

"They're not the only ones." Spike interjected. "I'm half witch myself, name's Spike Clayborne. And this is Shino Kurohana, my partner."

"A pleasure to meet you all." the young man tipped his hat before Kid spoke up.

"As for myself, I'm known as Death the Kid, son of Lord Death and heir to Death City, but you may call me Kid for short."

"The Grim Reaper has a son?!" said Izumo in disbelief.

"Yeah we didn't believe him at first either." Liz chuckled. "I'm Liz Thompson and the one petting Kuro is my little sister, Patty."

"He's so fluffy~" Patty gushed as she stroked the cat sidhe who seemed rather embarrassed by the pampering.

" _I'm over a hundred years old you know! Don't treat me like a kitten!_ " he said, despite knowing the girl couldn't hear his voice. But as she continued to pet him she noticed something twitching behind Rin. It looked like a tail.

"Hey you didn't tell us you had two cats!" she said to Rin's confusion as he reached out and touched the tail causing it to jump away from her hand.

"H-Hey don't do that!" Rin blurted but Patty took no notice as she went after the tail again only to see that it was attached to Rin's waist.

"You have a tail too! Are you a cat person like Blair?!" she gasped as the other weapons and meisters noticed Rin's extra appendage.

"Wait a minute..." Maka murmured before she activated ehr soul perception and looked at Rin's soul to find it was a brilliant blue with horns and a tail complete with a cocky grin similar to Black Star's soul. "...You're not human, are you."

"Oh crap..." Bon cursed.

"They found out already?!" Koneko panicked as Yukio sighed in defeat.

"We should have seen this coming. Some meisters can see into your soul and learn what and who you are."

"I knew it would be impossible to carry out this alliance without letting our secret slip." Shura groaned. "Might as well tell them now, Rin." Rin looked at his brother and mentor before he nodded in understanding before facing the DWMA gang.

"You're right, Maka, I'm not fully human. I'm half demon...and not just any demon."

"Shiro Fujimoto was our adoptive Father." Yukio said. "But our biological Father...is Satan." the group gasped. "I was weak when I was a baby so only Rin inherited his blue flames which are feared by many for their deadliness. Shiro raised us in secret as he believed we both deserved a chance at life, especially Rin. Only Mephisto knew about Rin's heritage."

"But it was after my powers awoke that Satan possessed my Old Man. He died protecting me from him." Rin explained.

"Even though Okumura's a good guy, the higher ups fear and judge him for having Satan's flames. Hell, we feared him for a while after we learned his secret." said Shima.

"Thanks to Mephisto however, he managed to convince the Vatican to give Rin a chance to prove he isn't the enemy. If he becomes an exorcist they'll let him live but if he doesn't..." Shura's face hardened as she felt she didn't need to finish the sentence. "Look, the point is he may be the bastard child of the Devil but don't think that makes him some sort of antichrist. The only thing his flames and Satan's have in common is their colour, nothing else." the DWMA gang looked amongst themselves before Arya spoke up.

"So what?"

" **SO WHAT?!** " the True Cross team said in unison.

"We don't care about his parents or his powers." Soul snorted. "In the end the shape and form don't matter. It's only the soul counts, nothing more. Those are the words I live by."

"Here here." Kid smiled. "I'm the son of Death himself after all, you don't see people judging me. Honestly whoever's running the Vatican need's to open their minds. As well as their hearts."

"Damn straight! Children don't get to choose their parents. It's who they choose to be that's important." Black Star said. "I was born from a clan of pure evil assassins all of Japan feared; the Star Clan."

"Hey I've heard of them!" Izumo interjected. "They only cared about their pay and woudl do anything for it!"

"That's right. The DWMA executed all of them but I was spared and taken in cause I was only a baby."

"Looks like you've got another thing in common with Rin." Tsubaki giggled.

"And then there's me." Logan entered the conversation. "My entire species has been known as the DWMA's second greatest enemy next to the Kishin for using magic for evil. And yet here I am along with my team, plus Spike and her family, and that's not including our friends Kim and Angela."

"Many of us are people who'd normally be rejected for our kind," Katherine began. "But here, we can be who we are without fear or judgement. So you have nothing to fear of us for being half demon, Rin. And don't let those stuffshirts back home tell you otherwise for something you can't help, cause you have a good soul."

"Yeah! The Paladin and Pope can go sit on a cactus!" Vanellope piped up which brought another round of laughter from Shura.

"Oh man! Oh I sure wish that bald ass bastard Angel heard that! You're a regular bunch of misfits you are! I love it!"

"Sure makes it lot easier to work with you knowing my heritage doesn't bother you. That means a lot to me." Rin smiled gratefully.

"Hey it's no big deal really." Maka grinned. "And besides you aren't exactly the first half demon we've befriended. Heck, I'm dating one." she added as she heald Crona's hand. "This is Crona."

"Hello...everyone." the demon swordsman said typically nervous as he was with new crowds.

"You're half demon like me then?" Rin asked.

"Well, not in the way you are." Crona answered. "It's a little more complex than that."

"What are you talking about?" Izumo questioned.

" **He's talking about me, mini-brows!** " Crona flinched as Ragnarok burst from his back earning screams of fright from Shiemi, Izumo and Shima.

"GAH WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Shima screamed.

"Name's Ragnarok. I'm a demon sword and also this pansy's blood."

"His _blood_?!" Bon stared at the little demon who sneered back at him.

"I used to be raised by an evil witch who replaced my blood with Ragnarok after she melted him." Crona explained. "We were her puppets who did her dirty work after she broke our spirits."

" _Your_ spirit more like." Raganrok rolled his eyes. "I just didn't give a shit."

"But it was thanks to Maka we were able to make a new life here with her and our friends."

"You see? It doesn't matter if you were controlled by a witch, born from a clan of shamed assassins or if your half demon. Your own actions determine who you are." Maka said.

"I have a feeling we're all gonna get along just fine." Shura said raising her coffee. "Here's to our alliance."

" **CHEERS!** " that gang proclaimed their newborn friendship.

XXX

But meanwhile, back in the Karakum desert, where the Gates of Hell once were, a tremendous moutain now stood in place, and perched atop it was a large shining temple palace. Inside, a small tanuki skittered down one of its many hallways before making its way through a large pair of doors which lead into a throne room of sorts. The raccoon dog yokai skidded to a sudden halt in order to avoid the blood which spattered against teh floor just in front of it. The tanuki gulped nervously as it looked up to the source of the blood, gazing upon a golden throne. And sitting on it was what appeared to be a man with a head of long and wild black hair while a large pair of angled horns sprouted from his scalp and they appeared to be glowing dimly with a pulsating heat. He was garbed in royal robes and around his neck was a string of human skulls and while the majority of his skin appeared of human quality his hands and feet were covered in thick scarlet scales. **KRUNCH! SHRIP! CHEW!** The sound of sharp teeth tearing into flesh echoed throughout the chamber as the one occupying it took another generous bite out of the human leg in the grip of his clawed hand. He then reached for the huge goard that lay beside his throne before taking a swig of its contents. After wiping his mouth he turned his attention to the puny tanuki. This...was none other than the King of Onis and the current Emperor of the Yokai realm. The 'Little Drunkard' Shuten Doji.

"Well? SPEAK!" he roared at the messenger who squeaked in fright as he bowed low.

"Apologies, Lord Shuten! I didn't mean to disturb your meal but I bring news of grave importance."

"Then out with it! You know how much I hate to be interrupted while I'm eating!"

"Yes, my Lord. The news is, The Demon King of Time, Mephisto Phelles has been informed of your escape, and what's more he's already made contact with Grim Reaper." the Oni chuckled humorously.

"Sooner than I had expected. So that top hat toting otaku plans to seal me away again, hmm? He won't perform the original ritual that was used on me before though, not with that old goat Fujimoto six feet under now." His eyes then glowed a fiery red before he let out a thunderous roar. " **HEAR ME! I, YOUR LEADER, SHUTEN SUMMON YOU!** **Tamamo!** " upon finishing his sentence, a figure stepped through a floral gossamer curtain covering one of the side exits of the chamber. A woman dressed in a kimono with long dark hair while a pair of pointed fluffy ears stood atop while she wore a pendant in the shape of fox head around her throat.

" **Sutoku!** " from the other side of the room a man with short silver hair entered. He was wearing a set of robes similar to a monk complete with a sash lined with pom poms and in his hand a staff with a black feathered fan at the end.

" **Torubi!"** a growl emanated through the hall as a hideous monster with the body of a tiger, the face of a baboon with tusks and a live snake in place of a tail. It licked its chops when it spotted the tanuki who shook with fear.

" **Dekishi!** " from the fountain in the middle of the chamber a small dark blue blob peeked out of the surface of the water as a pair of large yellow soulless eyes, like headlights, stared at Shuten as he spoke the next name.

" **Kontessa!** " from the far above ceiling a large dark shape fell to the ground with an echoed thud revealed to be a tremendously big spider with the top half of a purple haired woman at the front with only a jagged golden breastplate covering her chest as well as the joints of her eight legs.

" **Naegi!** " a nearby potted tree with blood red leaves quivered before the bark began to shift and crack as a pair of hollow eyes and crooked mouth opened up on the face of the plant while some of its branches entwined into arms.

" **Ochinai!** " with that a pair of huge stone arms emerged from a section of the wall which pressed against it to pull out the large square body they were attached too, with six piercing orange eyes and two stout legs.

" **Kanashimi!** " another woman passed through the same curtained entrance as Tamamo, although this one had shorter navy blue hair and was wearing a hooded cloak over her head along with a face veil that covered her mouth. Her hands however were tipped with long pointed black claws. What's more the robe she was dressed in was rather...revealing, as a fair amount of her perky bosom coudl be seen between the open folds of fabric.

" **Masuku!** " a fourth female Yokai entered the room. She had a huge hulking body covered by a heavy tattered cloak and a head of filthy black hair that touched the ground while also sporting a pair of long horns similar to Shuten's only they were smooth and curved instead. Additionally her gnarled hands bore ten extremely long fingernails almost similar to katana blades but her face couldn't be seen as it was covered by a cracked kabuki mask.

" **Honeo!"** the palace shook before a gigantic red skull with glowign eyes peered through one of the windows. Outside, however, the skull was atatched to an equally titanic skeleton which was hanging onto the cliff as it looked in on the meeting.

" **Orochi!** " on the other side of the bulding an enourmous eight headed serpent slithered up the side of the moutain to reach the palace as its eight heads peered in, each one wearing a different kind of demonic mask.

" **And finally, Chisai!** " The other eleven Yokai glanced down to the pitter patter of paws on the floor as a fluffy little white cat with two poofy tails entered the chamber. Her tails had black tips with zig-zag orange rings at the base as well as on her feet and ears, while she also had three large red eyes with black slit pupils. As the feline took a seat beside the tanuki messenger (who seemed a lot safer near her than the rest fo the monsters in the room) Shuten cleared his throat.

"My friends! While it is indeed a great joy that we have finally escaped that retched seal, we are not completely free yet! Our old foe, Mephisto is already preparing to strike back and has allied once more with the Shinigami.

"HA!" Sutoku laughed. "They can't do anything now that Fujimoto's rotting in hell! The ritual requires a demon and priest of the highest level to perform it!"

"You are right, but there is another way to trap us in our realm again. If the enemy manages to seal all twelve of you, a new shrine will be built from your energy. The body link I share my power to you through will be severed and considerably weaken me giving them a higher chance of sealing me permanently as well. We are indeed a strong and enduring species, but we must prepare for anything! Staying together in one location would only allow the enemy a greater chance of sealing you all at the same time, so go! Choose a location to your liking and take your clans with you! Scattering will give us more time to prepare our final plan as well as spread our minons across the world. Let your evil shine! Make them remmeber what fear tastes like! **ASSIAH WILL BE MINE!** " The other Yokai unleashed their enthusiastic roars and screeches before they departed from the royal chamber leaving Shuten alone on his throne as he continued to feast on the half-eaten remains of the hapless soul he'd claimed as his dinner before sighing with satifaction as he savoured the taste.

"Heh-heh-heh, I'm feeling the need for seconds. Bring me another virgin!" he demanded another meal.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Shuten no Doji is based on the legendary King of Oni and known in Japanese folklore as one of the three great evil yokai.  
As for his Twelve Generals:** **  
**

 **Kontessa is a Jorogumo** **Torubi is a Nue** **Dekishi is an Umibozu** **Sutoku is a Tengu whose full name is Sutoku Tenno and based on the second of the three great evil yokai.** **Naegi is a Jubokko** **Ochinai is a Nurikabe** **Honeo is a Gashadokuro** **Tamamo is a Kitsune** **and tributed to the third great evil yokai, Tamamo-no-Mae.** **Orochi is a Yamata no Orochi who some of you might recognise from the game Okami as he was based of the legendary eight headed serpent who was slain by the warrior Susanoo** **Kanashimi is a Hinoenma** **Masuku is a Kijo** **Chisai is a Nekomata**


	3. Chapter 3

**Soul Eater belongs to Atsushi Okubo**

 **Blue Exorcist belongs to Kazue Kato**

 **ATTENTION!** **Soul Eater OCs will be included in this story:**

 **Shino, Spike, Mark, Will and Juliete belong to XfangheartX (check her out on here and Deviantart) Alex, Logan, Katherine, Jason, Arya, Kutaro and Vanellope belong to me**

* * *

After their meet and greet had concluded, the group of weapons, meisters and exorcists decided to retire for the evening. Little did they realise, that night time was once again the hour of the yokai, to which they would soon see why. As a young couple made their way home, late at night through the evening rain, they stopped when a strange purple mist began to emanate from their umbrella as the object began to convulse and warp before the material split open and a huge eye opened up on the face of the umbrella while arms sprouted from the pole and the handle became a single foot. The couple could barely make a sound as the animated umbrella looked down on them, its torn mouth twisting into a smile.

"WOOHAHAHAHA! I'M ALIVE NOW!" It cackled causing the pair to scream in fright and drop their former possession which began to hop after them, laughing with mischievous glee. And that was only one of many inanimate objects that gained sentience that night; shoes, teapots, entire thrift stores came to life, parading through the streets and scaring the daylights out of anyone they could catch off guard.

And our heroes weren't fairing any better. Over at Maka and Soul's apartment, the pair found themselves wide awake as their home was now infested with dozens of little gremlin like yokai of many colours. They were scurrying all around and making as much noise as possible. Banging on everything that could make a sound, howling at the ceiling and one even stepped on poor Blair's tail to make her yowl, said cat was currently hiding atop Maka's wardrobe to get away from the mischievous monsters.

"What are these little freaks?!" Soul spat as he swatted at the yokai who jeered and laughed every time he took and swing and miss.

"Well they're clearly yokai that much I know!" Maka answered as she managed to chop one leaving it comically flat like a pancake with its limbs sticking up. "I can't believe I'm saying this but they're worse than Ragnarok!"

XXX

"AACHOO!" the demon sword sneezed as he and Crona too were also awake, as were Stein and Marie, for their home was also under attack from the pesky yokai as they were ransacking Stein's lab equipment, the scientist himself doing his best to contain his anger as he tried to rid his home of the vermin alongside Marie who'd been going whack-a-mole on them with her hammer arm.

"I'd rather have rats than these vermin!" she snarled as she continued to try and flatten the little monsters.

"I don't think I can deal with havign these things here for another night!" Crona whined in frustration as he kicked one of the yokai across the room as it had tried to climb up his leg.

"For once, I actually agree with your bitching!" Ragnarok hissed. "That Excalibur cosplayer's plan had betetr work or I'm gonna kill him!" And sure enough even Mephisto couldn't get any peace from the annoying infestation as the demon king found himself at his wits end when some of his game consoles came to life and escaped out the window.

"Tsukumogami..." he identified the inanimate object yokai with a sneer before his attention turned when one of his anime posters was torn to shreds by some of the little gemlin yokai which only pissed him off even moreso. "Yanari too. Shuten's really putting the screws to us tonight!"

XXX

The next morning, the group returned to the Death Room to receive their intructions from Lord Death and Mephisto, and needless to say nobody was in a good mood as evidensed by thier disheveled hair, baggy eyes and angry expressions, even Crona and Shiemi sharing the third detail with their peers.

"If it's any consolation, we weren't spared." Mephisto spoke first.

"It isn't." Shura followed up with a rasp in her throat.

"I never thought I'd say this, but can we get to the mission already?!" Shima asked. "I can't take another sleepless night like this!"

"Well, looks like he's cracked." Alex commented.

"That's old news." Izumo added.

"Anyway," Lord Death spoke up hoping to redirect the conversation. "As you know, if we are to reseal Shuten and his twelve generals we must first acquire the seal notes Shiro crafted all those years ago. According to Mephisto they shoudl be stored in his old monastery." Rin and Yukio's ears perked up when they heard this.

"Well whaddya know? Looks like we're going home for a spell, Yukio." the former grinned which his brother smiled back at.

"So it would seem. It's been a while."

"You mean we're going to see where you grew up, Rin?" Maka asked.

"I don't think we've seen your monastery before, Okumura." Bon brought up.

"I've always wondered what Rin and Yuki's old home was like." Shiemi concurred.

"Well you'll know soon enough." Shura said. "Let's just get this over with. Shouldn't take more than ten minutes. You got the key Mephisto?"

"It'll be a bit of a trip. The Death City Key is one of a kind. It can get you back to True Cross academy but not Shiro's monastery. You'll have to drive from the academy to get there." Shura groaned.

"Well it's faser than flying back to Japan I guess. Better get going, time is of the essense."

"There is a better way actually." Katherine piped up earning the group's attention. "Rolo could get us to the monastery, right Logan?"

"Say, that's right. It'll take a lot of energy out of him and then some, but he can do it."

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?!" Mephisto slapped his forehead before his expression became confused. "Wait. I thought he was sealed long ago for his crimes."

"He was. That is until Logan and his family stumbled across and freed him. I guess you could say he's become their familiar." Lord Death explained.

"Who or what is Rolo?" Bon asked.

"Long story short; he's the demigod of the zodiacs. He used to work for Lord Death, now he's one of our crew." Jason answered as Logan took out an ocarina with the texture of a night sky speckled with galaxies. He played a short melody on it which caused dark blue sparkling smoke to seep from the instruments holes. A few seconds later the smoke reformed into a pitch black imp-like creature with glittering skin and yellow eyes, garbed in red and blue robes and sporting a jester hat of similar colour. The creature stretched and yawned before turning to Logan with a bow.

"Morning, Logan. Man looks like you lot got hit with a bad nightstick."

"Hehehe, good one, Rolo." Jason complimented his bad joke whilst the others groaned at it. Rolo looked to see the True Cross exorcists straing at him in a mixture of confusion, shock and wonder.

"Hi there. Name's Rolo Starswirl; demigod night imp of the zodiacs at your service, or more acurately Master Logan's."

" _That's_ , a demigod?" Izumo stared dumbfounded by his comical appearance. "First the Reaper now this? Do all deities look this ridiculous?" Rolo folded his arms, his eyes slanted in annoyance.

"It's not like I asked for this form. And I'll have you know I'm still just as powerful."

"Hello Rolo. It's been a while." Rolo froze as he recognised the voice and slowly turned, eyes wide with dread when he saw the smirking demon.

"Oh no, not you~!" he whined to which Mephisto laughed.

"And I thought Shini's new look was laughable! You used to seem so intimidating once only to be reduced to this! You poor bastard!"

"Screw you! Like you have any dignity to rub in my face!" Rolo snorted. "The Yokai seal was your responsibility wasn't it? Guess you were too busy stuffing your face with mochi and ramen while camping outside the game store all week to be first in line for a Nintendo Switch!" Mephisto tightened his lips glancing awkwardly from side to side, not knowing how to respond to Rolo's insult which earned a chuckle from Rin.

"Never thought I'd see the clown get burned. That's a first for me." Mephisto cleared his throat before saying,

"Regardless, I'm told you can transport groups to distant locations."

"I can. What of it?"

"We need you to take us and our new friends to a monastery in Japan to find Shiro Fujimoto's research notes on the seal formula." Maka explained. "Can you get us there in one go?" the demigod rubbed his chin as he thought.

"I'm pretty sure I could get you there. That is if someone can provide me an exact location of the monastery."

"Covered." Yukio spoke up presenting Rolo with an adddress book.

"Perfect. Gather round everyone." the two schools of demon hunters surrounded Rolo who drew a staff from his cloak with which he drew a circle around them all before raising his hand. "Ok, eyes closed, backs straight. Oh, and for you newcomers, first ride's known to cause nausea."

"Wait wha-!" Izumo didn't get to finish her sentence as the group vanished in a puff of smoke before she could.

XXX

On the other side of the world in Japan, the Southern Boys' monastery, former home of Rin and Yukio sat quietly before a cloud of smoke filled the courtyard revealing the heroes as it dispersed. While the DWMA gang seemed the same as when they left, the True Cross members were on their hands and knees, ther faces green.

"Oh god I think I'm gonna hurl." Bon groaned covering his mouth.

"My head's all spinny~." Shiemi whimpered with ehr eyes swirly from the teleportation.

"How can you people still be standing?!" Izumo questioned as she shakily got to her feet.

"Hey you're lucky. I threw up completely on my first trip." Spike shrugged. "You know what i'm talking about huh, Shima." she added with a grin to the pink haired monk who had his head in a bush. Rolo meanwhile yawned as he began to slip back into the ocarina.

"Man, teleporting that many people that far in a second, take it out of a guy. Take nap." he said before disappearing into the flute.

"For a demigod you're pretty easy to tire." Bon snorted.

"He's powerful, not allpowerful, there's a difference. But don't worry, he'll be able to get us back to Death City too." Kutaro reassured.

"I think I'll take the long way back." Rin slurred as the group made their way to the entrance of the monastery. Yukio knocked on the door, but no one answered and as he gave the door a light push it slowly swung open leaving the group uneasy. As they entered the building they found it to be dark and empty, none of the members in sight.

"Hello~? Guys it's us, Rin and Yukio! Anybody home?!" Rin called out but received no reply.

"I don't like this. It's too quiet." Liz whimpered. "This place is probably crawling with Yokai."

"Well she's right about the unsettling silence." Yukio muttered as he drew one of his pistols. "I don't think we were the first to come here." a sharp clatter snapped the group to attention as something came rolling towards them from the dark end of the room. It was, of all things, a big round purple rimmed mirror which came rolling towards the group on its edge like a coin before spinning onto its face as it lost momentum. The gang didn't move.

"I don't remember that mirror being here before, do you?" Rin asked Yukio who shook his head as the young exorcist edged towards it, his gun pointed at it. But as he drew closer and looked at his reflection upon the mirror's face... **SLAP!** Everyone yelped when a hand pressed up against the mirror...from the other side, as three figures came into view. They were none other than the monastery members; Izumi, Maruta, Kyodo and Nagatomo. Everyone looked in shock as the priests silently shouted at them as they banged their fists against the inside of the mirror.

"GUYS!" Rin cried out as he ran to lift up the mirror. "Don't panic we'll get you outta there! What kind of demon is this?!" the priests stopped shouting when they realised their voices couln't be heard before Kyodo breathed on the surface and began to write something with his finger. But it was already too late for the group when the monastery doors slammed shut behind them just as Kyodo completed the message: _'It's a trap._ '

"Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm! So we meet at last, Rin, Yukio, Shura." an unknown male voice spoke as the pruple mirror began to glow and floated away from Rin, a veil of mist obscuring the image of the trapped priests before a skull like face appeared on the surface cackling maniacally. "How do you like my friend, Ungaikyo, the mirror yokai? Trapping those greenhorns wasn't worth my effort."

"Show yourself!" Maka demanded. "What reason would you have for attacking a church?!" another chuckle sounded before a dark cloaked figure leapt down from the rafters as Ungaikyo shrunk down to a compact mirror which the figure then placed in his pocket.

"You let my friends go!" Rin shouted.

"All in good time. I just wanted the opportunity to have a chat face to face before I leave, but I very well couldn't allow these men to get in my way. Don't fret, they won't be harmed."

"Well you can start by telling us whot he hell you are!" Shura glared drawing her sword whilst the DWMA gang readied their weapon partners, though the villain didn't seem phased.

"Ah, a gaggle of the Reaper's minions as well. Very good." they smiled. "Well to start, I suppose you know me as the one responsible for breaking the seal of the Yokai realm." Everyone's eyes widened in shock.

"You're responsible? In that case you'r under arrest for unleashing Shuten Doji upon the world!" Yukio declared to which the figure laughed mockingly.

"Put the gun down, boy. You're in over your head." he then began to reach for his hood and pulled it down, revealing himself to be a man about Shiro's age. He had short dark brown frizzy hair and a nine o'clock shadow whilst his eyes were a brilliant blue. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Enma Nawabari." Shura froze when the man spoke his name as her eyes widened.

"Impossible..." she whispered.

"You know him, Shura?" Rin asked.

"Only by name. This man...was Shiro's first diciple." the Exwires and Yukio gaped at the revelation as they looked back at Enma who nodded.

"Yep. I'm an old friend of your Dad, boys. In fact, I was his Arc Knight for a short while. Emphasis on short."

"I-I don't understand." Crona stuttered. "If you were a member of the Order, let alone Fujimoto's right hand, why would you free the Yokai King?!" Enma's eyes narrowed as certain memories began to play over in his head.

"I don't know how much you know of his history, but Shiro wasn't exactly the most trusting towards demons back then, with the exception of Mephisto." He said. "I on the other hand, was much more open minded to other species. While I don't deny that many demons are evil and serve Satan, there are just as many who don't. They fascinated me, so I became a tamer, and if I may say so a damn good one. I earned the trust and loyalty of many demons and in doing so gained many familiars. I was a rising star of sorts in that category of meister which eventually caught Shiro's eye so he invited me to be his disciple and soon enough we became good friends." the group listened intently as Enma continued his story.

"It was about three years later when I'd mastered taming demons so why not take it step further, I asked myself? So I decided to study the yokai in the hopes of winning them over to our side in the fight against Satan. That was when I met, her..."

"Her who?" Maka asked.

"I was on a mission in the Alps, when an avalanche buried me alive. I thought for sure it was over for me, when I was pulled from the snow. I woke up in a cave to find I had been rescued by a woman, only after I saw her in full I realised she wasn't human, but a yokai. A Yuki Onna to be precise and her name was Kori. She told me she'd never had the chance to meet a human before since most fled from her in fear of her powers. I stayed with Kori for weeks learning all I could from her about the yokai realm. One thing lead to another until we eventually fell in love. She and I shared a bond unlike any other." Enma's lips tightened and his eyes closed with what appeared to be sorrow.

"So what exactly lead you to betraying our Father?" Yukio demanded earning a piercing glare in return.

"It wasn't long after he became Paladin that Shuten Doji became ruler of the Yokai and waged war on Assiah, determined to bring it under his command. As you know, most of the Order's holy methods didn't affect the Yokai. Some fatal verses wounded them but that along with all else they had wasn't enough to defeat Shuten and his army. But then, the Grigori proposed that Shuten be sealed back in his realm by turning the Gates of Hell shrine into a lock. Shiro and Mephisto were chosen to perform the sealing ritual...and it worked. Shuten was dragged back through the gate with no hope of escaping...and then more yokai were pulled in too. His generals, minions, my Yokai friends until the seal began to pull Kori in as well. I heald onto her with all my might refusing to let go but the pull was dragging us both towards the gate. I begged Shiro to stop the ritual, to save Kori, but he told me it wouldn't stop until every yokai on earth was returned to the realm. I couldn't lose my beloved, so I chose to go with her...but that bastard Fujimoto! He refused to let me leave and held me back as Kori was ripped from arms, screaming my name as it happened and she was sealed away with the rest of them, gone forever. Your Father drove me and my love apart! I asked him why. Why couldn't he have just sealed Shuten and his followers?! Why did all the others deserve to be imprisoned along with Kori?! He said it wouldn't have lasted! That I couldn't be with Yokai! That it was sinful to _fraternise_ with monsters! You say I betrayed Shiro, but _HE_ was the one who betrayed _ME!_ I thought he'd come to believe in my ideals of trust among other species but it was all a lie! And so, I've shattered that retched seal and given the yokai back the freedom that was wrongfully stolen from them!"

"But Shiro told me you were killed by a demon!" Shura brought up. "He said you were devoured by a reaper!"

"No. That was only an act I had one of my familiars perform. The truth is I faked my own death so I could escape and find a way to break the seal and get Kori back. My familiars helped me steal Shiro's notes on the seal. Many years of research passed until I finally developed this." Shiku heald up his hand revealing the tattoo. "The key to the Gates of Hell. But the only catch was the seal would remain unbreakable if both of the makers of it were still alive. But that wasn't until some time later when I heard rumors that Shiro was dead." a laugh escaped him which irked Rin considerably. "It's so ironic. I had actually been planning to kill him myself but Satan did it for me. Never thought I'd be grateful for an act of the Devil! Good riddance you chain smoking old goat!" he spat at the framed picture of the deceased priest. Rin snarled fiercely as the man who'd once been his Father's friend laugh at his death before he ran to throw a punch at him and in that split second Enma thrust out his arm as a long segmented claw shot out from his sleeve beneath his hand and grabbed the blue exorcist.

" **RIN!** " Yukio Shura and Shiemi echoed as Enma chuckled mirthfully.

"You sly dogs. You got me monologuing, unbelievable. Though I gotta admit, kid, you're chock full of piss and vinegar!" he laughed as he threw Rin straight through the wall and the claw retracted back into his cloak. "Handy isn't it? My entire cloak and body are covered in summoning circles. I can call any one of my little friends whenever I choose with no more than one drop of blood so there's no risk of me bleeding out. I've got a whole army literally in my pocket and beneath my skin."

"You bastard...!" Rin growled as he pulled himself out of the shattered remains on the wall. "Betraying the Old Man is bad enough, but laughing over his death?! I'll never let you spit on my Dad's grave like that!" he drew Kurikara from its sheathe unleashing his true form before pointing the blade at Enma who cocked his brow. "Now hand over the research notes or I'll burn you up until they're all that remains!" Enma didn't flinch before he reached into his cloak and pulled out the papers.

"You know," he began as the group tensed. "You're gonna have a hard time reading these seal notes when it's so dark in here. How about I lend you a latern?" **Click!** With a snap of his fingers and a puff of smoke appeared a creature that looked like a paper lantern but with a large bulbous eyeball and a long fiery tongue which dangled out of the jagged torn hole that was its mouth. The man gripped the papers tightly before he tossed them towards the group who made a grab for them...but not before the lantern monster wrapped its blazing tongue around them and pulled the papers into its maw, incinerating them. They stared in horror as the beast spat the remaining ashes onto the floor as Enma raised his hands in a humurous shrug.

"Oops..." was all he said.

"Son of a bitch!" Black Star roared as he tried to strike Enma with his wavelength only for the tamer to block his hand.

"Hey now, we shouldn't be fighting here. This is a church." he shushed before he slugged the assassin back in the face knocking him to the floor. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go. Good luck sealing the yokai now!" he laughed before he opened his cloak causing a large winged dog to emerge from it as he mounted the beast which then took flight out the window.

"Get back here!" Rin leaped out of the window after Enma and grabbed onto his cloak, suprising the man who sneered at him before delivering a solid kick to his face, dislodging the blue exorcist but not without tearing off a piece of cloak in the process as Rin fell back to earth.

"Rin are you alright?!" Maka asked as the others joined him outside to see if he was injured as he sat up glaring at Enma shrinking into the distance. He pounded his fist into the dirt.

"DAMMIT! He got away!"

"And what's worse he burned Fujimoto's seal notes! How are we supposed to stop the Yokai Generals now?!" Bon cursed.

"We'll find a way. These may not be demons we're up against but they've gotta have a weakness of some kind. Everybody's got a weakness." Logan said before he spotted the scrap of material Rin was clutching. "Hey, Rin, let me see that." the latter handed over the cloak fragment to the wizard who turned it over to reveal several magic circles enscribed on it. "I wonder..." he murmured. "Shura, would the Vatican have any records of the Yokai invasion from before?"

"...I guess they would, not that I've ever looked into it." Shura replied somewhat confused. "Why?"

"We must do research. If I'm correct these are summoning circles for Yokai. Enma might be our enemy but he was sincere about his views of these creatures. If my team and I can decipher these circles, perhaps we can enlist some Yokai to aid us, that is if Enma was right about there being good Yokai. What better way to learn the weakness of the enemy than from the enemy themselves?"

"You really think it'll work?" Shima asked.

"What other leads do we have? I need you guys to find as much information on the Yokai that were fought from before. We'll search the records in Death City as well. Then all we have to do is summon a Yokai who'll be willing to aid us."

"It's not much of a plan, but it is one." Shura agreed. "You lot head back to Death City and get to work there. Yukio, you and I are the only ones with access to the Vatican so you're with me."

"I better come too." Kid piped up. "I suspect the Vatican won't be so generous with such information, but I can vouch for the cause in my Father's place."

"Right." Yukio nodded before turning to the rest of the group. "We'll meet up with you later, good luck."

"Likewise." Rin answered as the two instructors set off for Vatican headquarters.

XXX

It wasn't long before Yukio, Shura and Kid arrived at Vatican headquarters as the two exorcists lead the way to the Grigori's court.

"So this is the great Holy Sanctum of the True Cross Order. Such magnificent symmetry~!" Kid beamed as he took in the interior from every angle. Of course his OCD was a surprise to the other two as they looked at his gidiness with confusion.

"I figured he was too good to be flawless." Shura muttered.

"No one ever is." Yukio agreed as they reached the main entrance to the inner sanctum as Shura knocked.

"This is Shura Kirigakure and Yukio Okumura! We seek an audience with the Grigori! It's about the Yokai invasion!" the massive doors slowly opened to reveal a figure the exorcists weren't so elated to see. The current Paladin, Angel.

"Well I'm sure whatever you have to say to them can be said to me if it concerns the Yokai." the man then noticed Kid who was still admiring the decor in a daze. "And who is that buffoon?"

"One of our allies from Death City. He's here to represent the Grim Reaper." Yukio answered.

"The Reaper sends a human in his place? Why not come here himself?" Kid snapped out of his daydream when he heard the question, returning to his stoic professional demeanour.

"I beg your pardon but I am no human. I am Death the Kid; first and only son of Lord Death, the Grim Reaper, and heir to Death City." Angel's face twisted as though he'd tasted something sour.

"How unfortunate. First Satan's Son now the Reaper too. As if one demon spawn wasn't trouble enough for the Vatican." Kid felt his blood boil at the arrogant Paladin's insult as he stomped right up to him to look him in the eye.

"How dare you! You would compare my Father to the likes of Satan?! How did a prejudiced fool like you make Paladin?! Have you been living under a rock?!" Angel reached for his sword only for a voice to call out.

"Stand down, Angel! Let them in!" the man bit his lip as he obeyed, Kid refusing to take his eyes off him as he entered along with Shura and Yukio until they reached a stand where the three Grigori sat atop a balcony before them.

"Forgive him, Son of Death. He has yet to be acquainted with your Father's City." said the middle one.

"So it would seem." Kid muttered. "We come here seeking information in the fight against Shuten Doji."

"What's more we've identified the one responsible for destroying the seal." Shura added. "It's Enma Nawabari." the Grigori gasped.

"Shiro Fujimoto's former Arc Knight?! But he was declared-"

"Dead, I know." Shura finished the sentence. "Apparently it was a fluke so he could steal Shiro's research notes and develop a key to breaking the seal. What's more he's destroyed all information on it so our plan to seal Shuten's generals to weaken him has hit a roadblock."

"This is indeed troubling. Those notes were our best source of countering the Yokai." the left Grigori spoke.

"But we may have another way to find out how to seal the generals." Yukio declared. "But we require information on the Yokai to carry it out. Are there any records of the types of Yokai that were fought during the first war against Shuten Doji?"

"There are recordings of some. Though we weren't able to document many given their elusive nature." the right Grigori answered. "But why exactly do you require these records?" they questioned to which Kid replied.

"To summon a Yokai to aid us. Enma is a tamer and he developed a means of applying the same method to Yokai. The process should be the same as your demon familiars. If we summon a cooperative Yokai using his methods we may uncover crucial leads on how to stop Shuten's forces."

"Madness!" Angel intervened. "Summoning those creatures will only make their invasion easier! Expecting them to even consider cooperating is folly! Demons are merely wild animals but Yokai are smarter than them! You can't trust them anymore than demons if not less!" Shura rolled her eyes.

"You moron! Have you forgotten you have a demon strapped to your belt 24/7? It's already been proven not all demons are evil. And if Yokai are smarter than them, as you claim, then that only makes them more likely to have morale." Angel gritted his teeth knowing Shura had checkmated him.

"Please, give us access to the records. We have no other options available." Kid bowed. "If finding an ally among the enemy is our best bet then we must take it! If we don't then Shuten wins!" the Grigori looked amongst themselves before the middle one answered.

"You make a good argument, Death the Kid, as do you, Kirigakure. If the methods you intend to use are the same as that of tamer the same level of danger applies as well. You may have access to the records." the trio smiled. "But understand if this method of yours does not work, our chances of stopping Shuten Doji are slim."

"Understood." Yukio nodded as the group headed off to retrieve the records as Kid glanced at Angel and smirked at him which caused a tick to form on his temple.

XXX

Back in Death City, the Exwires and DWMA gang had informed Lord Death and Mephisto of the situation, much to their shock, along with the backup plan. Naturally the two headmasters granted them access to any Yokai records Death City had in its archives and the group were now rummaging through the many documents int he hopes of finding a Yokai to summon that woudl be of any assistance.

"Living sandles, hair cutting goblins, people with giant eyes on their asses! Man these are some screwed up spooks." Shima gawked at the bizzare descriptions.

"And many of them just like to scare the crap outta people! This is getting us nowhere!" Spike growled.

"Just keep looking! We need to find a higher rank, these are all low level Yokai so far." Koneko said.

"Hey!" the group looked to see Yukio, Shura and Kid entering the library carrying a stack of papers each. "We brought the ones from the Vatican." Shura smiled.

"Great work, Miss Kirigakure!" Maka beamed as she began to look through the papers taking notice of the more serious recordings. "These ones seem stronger, more dangerous."

"Yeah but we need one who can tell us more about the Yokai. These are all just basic descriptions." Shino said back.

"Wait! What about this one?" Everyone looked to see Tsubaki holding a paper. "It's called the Hakutaku. There's very little on it, but it says it was highly intelligent and very elusive of battle."

"That's the ticket! Brillaint, Tsubaki!" Black star grinned as his partner passed the page to Logan who had been studying Enma's summoning circle with his team.

"Alright. Arya and I have got the circle deciphered. Kutaro." the young mage nodded before he placed his hands against the ground causing a large replica of the circle to rise from the ground out of stone. Logan then handed him several of his feathers which Kutaro then placed at the end points of the circle's pattern.

"The circle's set, Logan."

"Excellent. Katherine I'm going to need soul resonance." his girlfriend nodded before changing into her weapon form as Logan placed the staff on his back before their soul wavelengths syncronized. He breathed deeply through his nose, lacing his fingers into multiple signs as he chanted a mantra causing the feathers around the circle to burst into flames and spread across the patterns.

"So this is what witchcraft looks like." Koneko muttered in puzzled awe.

"Yeah, be thankful it's not black magic you're witnessing." Jason commented. "It's always so hard to find a willing sacrifice." He grinned wickedly at the monk before laughing at his joke though Koneko was no less disturbed by his dark humour. "Kidding! So serious." By this point Logan drew Katherine from his holster as he opened his eyes which were now glowing white before he struck the centre of the circle with said staff causing the flaming pentagram to swirl into a blazing hole of golden light which engulfed the room momentarily blinding everyone until they eventually regained their vision and gasped at what was floating above the circle before them. It looked like a brilliant white ox with the main of a lion and four horns growing out of its back aside from the two atop its head. What's more it bore a total of nine amber eyes; three on its face and three on either side of its torso below the extra pairs of horns whilst wisps of golden flames hovered around its hooves and body as it floated before the group of heroes before it spoke in a deep echoed voice.

" **Greetings, mortals of the realm of man. You have summoned me: Hakutaku, the oracle of Yokai.** "

"Whoa..." Shino gaped at the sight of the strange creature.

" **I know why you have called me.** " Hakutaku spoke before anyone could explain their cause. " **You seek my aid in stopping Shuten Doji and his followers from stealing this world for its future is at a critical juncture at the hands of my dark kin. To answer your question, I shall help you.** "

"Y-You will?!" Maka asked. "You don't hold a grudge against humanity for being sealed away before?" the old Yokai furrowed his brow as he snorted.

" **I am as old as the earth and all knowing of all things in creation. Between twenty and thirty years barely consists of a nap to me. I also understood your predecesors decision to seal my kind in our realm for there was no way to defeat Shuten before. But now that you see what Enma's heartbreak and grudge has wrought, and with all of Fujimoto's knowledge of the original seal destroyed you must find another way to stop this evil. Shuten Doji is blinded by hatred for your kind and all who stand behind them, including myself.** "

"Then why hasn't he killed you?" Black Star questioned.

" **As I have said I am all knowing. My knowldge does not spair Doji nor any other evil and as such all evil Yokai stay away from me for I know all their strengths and weaknesses and that knowledge terrifies them. It is what makes me one of the most frightening Yokai in existence, to those I am an enemy of.** "

"Well having your entire existence known by another is a scary thought." Arya agreed. "So then are you saying you can stop Shuten and his generals?"

" **I cannot.** " Hakutaku replied to their shock. " **I may be wise and eternal, but I am still old. I am also not a fighter, I am a oracle. What I can do is assist your quest. If you truly wish to stop this evil you must first know its weakness, and I can tell where to find it.** "

"Well what is it?" Izumo asked.

" **Long ago in ancient China, I was approached by a wise and kind Emperor whose country had been invaded by evil Yokai. He sought my knowledge so that he could save his people, and so I told him of each and every Yokai, their nature and of course their strengths and weaknesses. The Emperor had his servants record what I told him in a book he named the Hakutaku-Zu in my name. It is a guide to dealing with all Yokai and your only means to fight them, including Doji.** "

"So where is it? Can you get it for us?" Soul asked.

" **No. For I am in the Yokai Realm, the book remains here on Earth. You must go to the** ** **Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor, the author of the book. You will find it buried there, but be careful; for Doji will be seeking the book as well so you must make haste and retrieve it before he does.**** "

"Thank you, wise Hakutaku." Logan bowed along with the others in gratitude. "Your help will not have been for nothing."

" **I hope that will be the case.** " the old Yokai said. " **I do hate it when my knowledge is squandered. Good luck, meisters, weapons, exorcists, demons. May your efforts protect this world just as those did in times long past.** " With that, the ancient creature enveloped the room once more in golden light before disappearing leaving only a scorch mark of the summoning circle on the floor. Everyone stood in silence before Shura broke the ice with a grin.

"We have out heading."

 **To be continued...**


End file.
